Will BJP’s PM Candidate Please Stand Up?

Pressure is mounting on India’s main opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party, to announce its prime ministerial candidate for the country’s next federal elections due before May 2014.

On Friday, BJP ally Shiv Sena said in its newspaper Saamana that the BJP should start discussing possible candidates for the spot now. The right-wing Hindu party had earlier this month said its choice for prime ministerial candidate was Sushma Swaraj, leader of the opposition in the lower house of parliament. But in the recent Saamana article, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray indicated that he was open to other ideas. If the BJP has “another name, please bring it forward, we will talk. But do that soon,” wrote Mr. Thackeray.

The upcoming federal elections are critical for the BJP, which lost the last two national polls in 2004 and 2009.

In the last two weeks, several BJP allies and former party leaders have publicly voiced their opinions about possible prime ministerial candidates for the BJP-led coalition, National Democratic Alliance.

One leading contender is Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who has been riding high lately, following his re-election as chief minister of the western state for the third time in a row in December.

Ashok Singhal, former chief of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, said that the public is demanding that Mr. Modi be made the prime minister and the BJP should pay heed to that. Vishwa Hindu Parishad is a religious body to promote Hinduism, and its opinion is valued by BJP’s senior leaders.

Last week, Mr. Modi was endorsed by former BJP leaders Yashwant Sinha and Ram Jethmalani.

BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told The Wall Street Journal that the party hasn’t yet decided on a nominee for the country’s top executive post, but added that the “party will keep the popular demands in mind”.

Unlike the U.S., in India’s parliamentary system, the party that forms a government after national elections names a prime minister. Parties don’t have to pre-determine who their prime minister might be before results are in. Still, speculation about possible options has been rife in recent weeks.

Buzz about Mr. Modi’s candidature gained momentum earlier this month, when BJP’s new president Rajnath Singh said he would talk to senior party leaders about giving the Gujarat chief minister greater role in the party’s strategy.

Analysts say Mr. Modi’s consecutive wins in Gujarat, where economic growth has outpaced national growth, has helped increase his national and international appeal. “He is charismatic leader, a great orator, especially in Hindi” something that would help win India’s vast Hindi-speaking voter base, says Sanjay Kumar, a political analyst with the Center for Study of Developing Societies, a New Delhi-based think-tank.

But making Mr. Modi a prime ministerial candidate could create several problems for the BJP.

Mr. Modi has long courted controversy, over allegations of his role in the 2002 riots of Gujarat which left hundreds of Muslims dead. Mr. Modi has previously denied any role in the riots.

Many feel that giving Mr. Modi a leadership position could undermine the BJP’s effort in recent years to get away from religion-based politics.

Some allies are openly opposed to him. BJP ally Janata Dal (United) – which leads the government in Bihar — has said in the past that it would leave the BJP-led coalition, if Mr. Modi was elected. JD (U) officials couldn’t be reached for comment.

On Sunday, BJP President Mr. Singh said at this point it was “difficult to name any leader” who would be acceptable to BJP and all its allies, according to a report by the Press Trust of India. Mr. Singh called Mr. Modi “very capable and popular leader,” but added that BJP had several good leaders.

Analysts say Mr. Advani, at 85, may be too old to run for this position, while Mr. Jaitley lacks national appeal.

They think Ms. Swaraj has a better shot than the others, “especially as she is a lady and already the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha,” says Narendra Kumar, head of the political-science department at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow.

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